So I asked my physics teacher (also had him for chem sophomore year) for a letter of recommendation. He said yes, but he told me to first write a letter recommendation about myself from his point of view. And I have no idea where to start. should I be modest or full-out brag about myself???
Brag. He wants you to be very clear about your achievements and personal qualities.
Definitely brag. I still cringe, as an adult, when I remember the teacher who loved me and told me to write whatever I wanted and she’d sign it. I was so embarrassed that I undersold myself terribly. I had no idea what to put in such a letter. I realize today that she was trying to be helpful but it had the opposite effect.
Why not ask one of your parents to write the letter as a first draft and see what they would put in it? You may be pleasantly surprised to see what a parent says about you when given permission to brag without constraint. (Then pin a copy to your wall so whenever you and they are butting heads, you can reread it.)
Brag, but within reason. Start easy and discuss your academic achievements in his classes and then you can put in a second paragraph discussing some personal traits he might have noted and/or some of your EC activities.